The hot Utah sun was shining down intensely over Freddy’s Fantasy Water Park. The sky was a perfect shade of baby blue, and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect day for cooling off and getting wet, as the temperature was in the mid 80s. It was the beginning of June, and while the school year was not quite over yet, it was a Saturday, so kids from all over the area were currently splashing and playing at the Freddy’s-themed park, which, right now, was brand new and in its very first year of operation.
All of the kids were excited to be there, but no one else quite matched the enthusiasm of two young children currently standing at the gates to the water park, clad in kids’ size swimwear, eyes wide with joy. They were twins, a boy and a girl. They looked to be about six years old. The girl had bright green eyes and golden hair. The boy had brown hair and hazel eyes. He seemed to be more shy than the girl, who was excitedly bouncing up and down, just begging to enter the park.
“Hurry up, Daddy! I want to ride the Foxy slide!” The girl exclaimed, with a notable English accent that did not sound anything like the voices of the other children who could be heard screaming and shouting in the park.
Just behind her, a tall, thin man and a withdrawn teenage boy of about 15 walked through the gates.
“Calm down, Elizabeth. We have the entire day to spend in the park.” The man said, also in an English accent like the girl, indicating a familial relationship between them.
The teenage boy grumbled and crossed his arms. “I don’t understand why we’re even coming here. This place is rundown, filthy, and boring. Not where I want to spend my Saturday.” He looked a lot like his dad did, with the exact same dark brown hair and distinct eye color. If it wasn’t for the age difference one could have mistaken them for brothers.
“Quit your complaining, Michael. This is my weekend with you kids and Evan and Elizabeth wanted to go to the water park.” The man said sharply. “Besides, we get a discount since I have partial ownership of this place!” He smiled, and there was a sparkle of pride in his blue-gray eyes.
Michael knew there was no point in protesting. His dad never took his side and was always in agreement with his younger brother and sister, no matter what they did. When Elizabeth had drawn a series of random scribbles on the living room wall, he had praised her “artistic vision.” And when Evan had accidentally smashed a vase that had been in the family for years with his baseball, their father told Evan that he’d never liked the vase anyway. Without a doubt Evan and Elizabeth were the favorites, leaving Michael as the one left out.
He didn’t get it — he was his Dad’s son, too! — but he presumed that it was probably because he was no longer young and cute. That being said, Michael couldn’t remember ever being treated so nicely by his father when he was that age. It seemed like ever since he was born he just couldn’t ever be enough.
“Daddy, can I go play on the slides now?” Elizabeth whined obnoxiously, causing Michael to cringe in annoyance.
“Hold on, sweetie, we have to get our tickets first.” He went up to the ticket office and showed his ID. “I think this means we get quite the employee discount.” He grinned.
The employee in the ticket office examined the father’s ID, apparently a business card, which read in fancy printed letters:
William Afton
CEO, Afton Robotics, LLC
The employee looked surprised at the sight of the name that was on the card. “Uh, you can go right in, sir.” He said politely. “No charge.”
The children attempted to follow.
“Wait, hold on.” The employee interrupted. “You still have to pay for them. They don’t work here after all.” He gestured towards the children.
“Fine, fine. I’ll pay.” The father, William, said dismissively, and he handed the dollar bills to the employee. The employee in turn gave him three wristbands, which he distributed to the kids.
“I paid good money for this, Michael.” He said as he gave his oldest son the bright yellow wristband which had the smiling face of Freddy Fazbear printed on it. “You better make use of it. And you’re in charge of watching your brother and sister. You know how Evan likes to wander off.”
Michael rolled his eyes. Despite all the money his dad made from his business, he was still a massive cheapskate. He acted like every single cent spent on Michael was somehow an enormous sacrifice. Oh, but he didn’t have any problem paying for things he himself wanted, did he? Like the new car with the custom purple paint job he’d just purchased, which was incredibly expensive and couldn’t even fit more than two people in it anyway. It seemed like he only drove it to work just to make himself look more impressive than he actually was.
Michael was about to point out to his dad that he hadn’t actually wanted to come there in the first place when Evan and Elizabeth finally got their wristbands on and dashed off, disappearing into the chaos of the park.
“Better keep an eye on them.” His dad said sternly.
“What about you? Aren’t you going to go swimming with your kids?” Michael questioned.
His dad laughed in a rather vicious manner. “Like I would waste my time mucking around in water that’s about 50% piss along with a hundred or so snot nosed kids! No thank you!” He scoffed. “And besides, wouldn’t want to go shirtless in public and show off the evidence of my little ‘accident’ for the world to see, now would I?”
Michael recalled what his father was referring to and shuddered. Some time ago, his dad had been in a nasty workplace accident. It had had something to do with one of his “projects” gone horribly wrong. He’d survived, miraculously, but he never fully recovered; namely, he was left with crisscrossing scars all over his back and torso as a reminder of what he’d experienced. Now that he thought about it, Michael understood why his dad didn’t want to take his shirt off — those scars would certainly turn heads and could very well get them all kicked out of the park.
His dad also wasn’t wrong about what the water was made of.
Presently, Michael’s dad sat down on one of the lounge chairs near the wave pool and pulled out a magazine which read Screws, Bolts, & Hairpins on its cover. He waved Michael away with his free hand. “Go on, go find your brother and sister. I’ll be here.”
Michael sighed and turned to face the crowded park. Elizabeth and Evan, like all little kids, were incredibly fast on their feet. They would be able to cover far more ground than he could, and in far less time. They could be anywhere in the park by now. Michael knew it was really a lost cause trying to round them up, but he also knew his dad would yell at him if he didn’t. But there were so many places Michael could look for his siblings.
Freddy’s Fantasy Water Park truly had it all; there were the water slides, the lazy river that encircled the park, several children’s play areas, a wave pool, a gift shop, an arcade, and the “mechaquarium” in the center. The “mechaquarium” was just what it sounded like. It was an aquarium, but instead of being filled with fish or other sea animals, it was filled with several animatronics that were made to look like sea animals. Michael hadn’t actually seen the water park animatronics in person before, but he knew of their existence — his dad’s company built them after all.
In fact, that was his dad’s entire line of work. He was an engineer by trade, who specialized in building animatronic characters for anyone who wanted them. And he made tons of money off them, because children seemed to love them. Michael didn’t get why, since he always thought they were more scary than fun. But Evan and Elizabeth, as to be expected, loved their father’s animatronics, and most importantly, they loved the business that their father helped to create, Fredbear's Family Diner, and its offshoot, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
Maybe their undying love for his life’s work was why their father really loved them so much.
Michael decided to head to the kiddie pools first, which were themed around the character of Bonnie the Bunny, because they were just off to the left and the closest to him. But he encountered a familiar face on his way there.
“Hi Michael! Where’s your dad?” It was someone Michael knew very well. Henry Emily was his father’s business partner and closest friend. He was about the same age as Michael’s dad, but he was shorter. He also had a great deal more of facial hair, and he wore glasses. And unlike Michael’s dad, he was a native of the area and sounded the part.
“Oh um, hello Mr. Henry. My dad decided to take us to the water park today. He’s over there.” He gestured towards his dad, who could be seen flipping through the pages of his magazine, too far away to hear.
Michael was kind of surprised to see Henry here. Although he wasn’t incredibly close with the man, to Michael he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d hang out at water parks.
“Wondering why I’m here?” Henry asked, as if he could read the teenager’s mind. “Oh, I’m not here for me.” He gestured at a little girl who was timidly hiding behind him. “Charlotte, you remember Michael, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah, Mikey. He talks funny.” Charlotte giggled, seeming to come out of her shell a little.
“Now Charlie, we don’t talk about other people that way.” Henry said.
“It’s okay, I get that a lot.” Michael smiled politely.
Truth be told, he was quite fond of Charlotte Emily, who often went by the nickname of “Charlie.” She was about the same age as Evan and Elizabeth, so she sometimes came over to the house for playdates. She was quieter and less obnoxious than Elizabeth and more kind and thoughtful than either of Michael’s siblings. He also felt kind of bad for her, knowing that her mom had died recently, something that had been hard on both her and Henry.
Michael couldn’t help but think he would have preferred having her as a little sister.
“Hey, Charlie, you want to help me look for my brother and sister? My dad says I have to find them and keep an eye on them.”
“Oh that’s a great idea!” Henry replied, “Charlie can come with you, and I can talk to your dad about some things.”
“Sounds good to me.” Said Michael. He didn’t mind having to supervise Charlie. At least he would have someone else to hang around with. Someone who wasn’t his dad or his brother and sister.
Henry told Charlie to be on her best behavior and to not wander away from Michael, and then he walked over to where Michael’s dad was seated. Michael’s dad looked quite shocked to see his business partner at the water park, but he greeted Henry with a smile. Michael couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he guessed it was probably work related.
Michael took Charlie’s small hand and together they walked over to the kiddie pools.
“So, why do you talk funny?” Charlie asked. “You don’t talk like anyone else I know. Well, you sound like Evan and Lizzie. But you don’t talk the way the kids at school do.”
Michael decided to answer the girl’s question. “What you’re hearing is my English accent. People from different places often talk in different ways.”
“But I thought you were from Hurricane like me and Daddy.” Charlie said, looking confused.
“I am, but my daddy was born in England. He moved here decades ago, where he met my mommy. Then sometime later they had me, Evan, and Elizabeth. Us kids are Hurricane natives like you, but since our daddy talks that way, we got the accent, too.” Michael explained. “Does that make sense?”
“Uh-huh.” Charlie said, before changing the subject. “Wanna play in the kiddie pool?”
Michael chuckled. “Sadly I think I’m a bit too big, but I’ll look around the kiddie pools for the twins while you play!”
“Okay!” Charlie said before jumping into the pool with a big splash.
Michael scanned the kiddie pool for Elizabeth and Evan, but he couldn’t see them anywhere among the crowd of kids. Elizabeth did mention that she wanted to ride the water slides. Maybe they went there? But Michael couldn’t just leave the kiddie pool. He now had Charlie to look out for.
“They’re probably fine. They’ll go find Dad if they need anything.” Michael decided to sit down on one of the chairs and watch Charlie play. For the first time today, he felt truly content.
~~
Meanwhile, while Michael was finally getting a chance to relax and enjoy himself, his dad wasn’t getting the same opportunity. It turned out that Henry wanted to talk to him about something he really did not wish to discuss. Something he hoped he could avoid dealing with until the following Monday.
“Will, I don’t want to bother you like this on a Saturday, but I’m really concerned about something.” Henry stated.
“What is it, Henry?” William closed his magazine and set it aside. “What is so important that you had to interrupt my weekend with my kids for?” He drummed his fingers on the side of the lounge chair impatiently.
“It’s just… I wanted to talk to you about those springlock suits.” Henry began. “I really don’t think they are safe for our employees to use. I think you should reconsider implementing them at the other locations. Remember what happened to you?”
William rolled his eyes. “I’ve told you a million times,” he said with annoyance in his voice, “that was an accident. A one time event. Now the suits are much safer.”
But that didn’t convince Henry.
“I hate to say this, Will, but I’m telling you this as a friend. Just look at you! You’re so skinny now, when you used to be more…”William stared as Henry tried to find the appropriate word to use. “…Robust.” Henry finished. “It’s all because of what happened to you with that springlock incident! What if that, or something worse, happened to one of our employees?”
“So? Things happen. It’s all part of running a business.” William said coolly.
Henry knew that William wasn’t the most empathetic of people — he tended to be persuaded more by cold hard facts rather than any appeal to emotions — so he tried a different approach.
“You realize the countless lawsuits that would happen if people got hurt in those suits? We’d be bankrupt!”
That made William pause. “Do you really think a few injuries like that would be enough to shut down our business?” He asked with a hint of concern.
“I do. We’re trying to build up our reputation as a family friendly establishment that parents can trust. Do horrific injuries and permanent organ damage sound family friendly to you, Will?” He said pleadingly.
William started to say something but hesitated, and Henry knew he was thinking about his own kids. It seemed like they, along with Henry, were the only people William really cared about in the world.
Henry had met William years ago, when they were both in their 20s. William had just moved to the United States from London, and he was looking for ways to finally turn his dream into a reality — a family restaurant involving animatronic animals that would entertain patrons while they ate. Henry was an inventor who was also interested in animatronics, so they put their minds together and opened a business called Fredbear’s Family Diner in the late 70s. There truly was nothing else like it in the world, and kids from all over came to see the mechanical animals who could sing, dance, and tell jokes. It had gotten so popular that they were able to expand it into a successful chain, with new franchisees opening up all over the country.
Henry had always thought William was a little odd, but that was what he liked about him. They had a lot in common as they were both engineers who weren’t the most social of people. Henry had always felt different from the other people in Hurricane, so it was nice to have a friend in the form of a fellow outsider.
Also, both men had wives who were no longer in the picture. Henry was a widower, and William was recently divorced. They both felt quite lonely at times, so it was nice that they at least had each other.
Although William wasn’t perfect — he sometimes acted rather mean towards Henry, and he did have a bit of a drinking problem — Henry was just happy that somebody wanted to be around him. Especially someone with as brilliant of a mind as William Afton. And because of that, he was willing to yield to William on all but the most important of issues.
Of course, the matter of the springlock suits was something Henry deemed to be an important issue.
“Fine. I can have my technicians look at the suits to make sure they’re safe. Would that make you happy, Henry?” William relented.
“Oh thank you, Will! You won’t regret it.” Henry said, feeling much more relieved. “I’m gonna go see what Charlie is up to.”
“You mean you weren’t watching your kid?” William asked with a smirk.
“Oh no, I’d never do that.” Henry said, ignoring William’s hypocritical comment. “I actually ran into Michael near the kiddie pool, and he’s watching her.”
“Oh, Michael is watching her. I see. But wait — I thought I told that boy to keep an eye on Evan and Elizabeth!” William’s anger rose. “That boy, always disobeying me. That ungrateful brat. All the things I do for him, and he can’t even do a single thing I tell him to. He will be sorry the next time he sees me!”
“Um, I think I’ll just go and find my daughter now.” Henry said hastily. He knew how William could get when he was angry. And he didn’t want to stick around for it. At first Henry thought he should probably warn Michael about his dad’s impending wrath, but he decided against it because he himself did not want to be subjected to his friend’s anger.
~~
As Henry left, William sat there fuming.
That Michael was just like his mother.
If it wasn’t for those two, William could have had a perfect life — he had a thriving business, plenty of money, a best friend who would do anything for him, and two of the most amazing children he could have asked for.
But they had to ruin everything by being ungrateful and uncooperative. Why couldn’t his ex-wife and oldest son be more appreciative of him?
Clara had officially handed him the divorce papers after his accident, but she had already been growing more distant from him ever since he became successful. She knew he had to work long hours, carefully perfecting his animatronic creations, and yet she didn’t cut him any slack. She was always complaining about him not having time for her. Then she claimed that he spent too much time at Jr’s, the bar down the street from their house. She just didn’t understand that he sometimes needed the stress relief of a few harmless drinks. She wasn’t working hard day after day to provide a comfortable life for their children. William wasn’t sure exactly what the final nail in the coffin for their marriage was, but he did think that his network of scars he sustained from the accident probably didn’t help matters, as it was kind of difficult to share any intimate moments without them getting in the way.
William recalled his accident. It was without a doubt the single most painful thing he had ever experienced. He honestly thought that it was one of the most painful things a human being could experience. When he first felt the springlocks in the suit fail that day, and he could feel the animatronic mechanisms digging deep into his flesh, puncturing his organs and invading the deepest recesses of his body, he was sure he was going to die. And he almost did. If Henry hadn’t been there to drag his bleeding and bruised body out of the suit in time…
The thought terrified him.
Even though he was alive, William was still profoundly damaged. His digestive tract didn’t work the way it should, so he was chronically malnourished and remained skinny (no matter how many late-night trips to McDonald’s he made). His muscles were stiff and ached all the time regardless of whether he used them. And he was pretty sure there were still some metal bits left inside of him despite the many procedures he’d had to remove them.
So William was very well aware of the potential problems that could arise due to use of the springlock suits.
The real issue was he didn’t care all that much. Sure, he didn’t want to experience that again himself, nor would he ever wish it upon the members of his family. He certainly wouldn’t wish it upon Henry, the man who almost always did everything William said. And even though he found himself despising them more often than not, he wouldn’t want it to happen to Michael or Clara.
But some random employees he didn’t know who could be replaced in the blink of an eye? The thought of someone like that getting injured, even killed, didn’t move William. He just didn’t care very much about other people’s suffering, unless those people were those he himself cared about. William supposed this made him some kind of psychopath. He knew it wasn’t normal to not care about people, so he kept this aspect of himself secret. Maybe it did make him a terrible person, but William also saw it as an advantage. It was easier to run a company without emotions and sentimentality getting in the way.
But Henry did have a point. Springlock failures could result in an extremely negative view of their fledgling company, and they didn’t want Fazbear Entertainment shutting down after less than six years of operation. William didn’t want to lose everything he’d worked decades to create. There was no way he would let his dream go down in flames. He would rather die.
Which said quite a bit.
After thinking for a bit about his conversation with Henry, and how he had been greatly wronged by both Michael and Clara, William realized he was hungry. He was craving a hamburger or two, maybe with a large side of fries to go with it. He checked his watch — it was after 2 PM. The children were nowhere to be seen. William knew that he told Michael he’d be sitting on the beach chair the whole time, but he couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling of hunger any longer. He had to eat something. He first considered ordering a burger from the eatery at the water park, but then he noticed all the crying toddlers and screaming children at the tables. Despite his creations appealing and being primarily marketed to children, he didn’t really like kids all that much (that is, except his own) — he preferred peace and quiet to juvenile excitement. So, William decided to leave the park altogether for a bit, and treat himself with something from his favorite restaurant— the McDonald's down the street. He wouldn’t be there too long; if Michael did come back to find his dad gone, well, he’d just have to wait. Michael would have to deal with it.
~~
After Charlie had been playing in the kiddie pool for a while, Michael, Charlie, and Henry returned to the spot where Henry had last seen Michael’s dad, only to find the lounge chair now occupied by a heavily tanned teenage girl who glowered at Michael.
Michael was seething. It was just like his dad to go off and do something for himself without telling anyone. Michael hoped that whatever it was his dad was up to, it was something very important.
~~
“Okay, I’ll have two — no, make it three —Big Macs, a large co*ke, and a large side of fries.” William said to the striped shirt-clad cashier as he stood at the counter of the McDonald’s and studied the menu.
“Will that be all, sir?” The pimply faced adolescent cashier asked in a flat, uninterested voice.
“Oh, wait, and I’ll have some of those new chicken McNuggets, too. I’ve heard they’re good.” William added.
After he gave the cashier the money, William noticed that a little girl in line behind him was staring at him.
“What are you looking at?” He questioned, narrowing his icy eyes.
“You sound funny.” The girl replied. “Also, my mommy says that having too much McDonald’s is bad for you. It’ll make you get all fat and sick.”
William took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from getting angry at the literal child who was standing before him.“Little girl,” he grinned to hide his annoyance, “as you can see, I am in no danger of being fat. And did your mommy ever tell you not to talk to strangers?”
Just then a woman came running up to the girl and grabbed her hand. “Susie, stop bothering that man and follow me.” She apologized to William before leading the girl away to the exit of the restaurant.
“One day that girl’s going to get herself into trouble.” William said to himself.
In just a couple of minutes, William’s calorie-packed food was ready, and he couldn’t have been happier. He excitedly grabbed the two grease stained paper bags of food and his large soda from the cashier and found a table to sit at.
The food smelled heavenly. He supposed it was quite ironic that he, a Brit, loved one of the most quintessentially American things ever created, but he didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing in the world like a couple of cheeseburgers, some fries, and a cold Coca Cola from McDonald’s. It almost made him forget about all his problems.
Almost.
As mentioned before, William’s digestive system wasn’t like it used to be thanks to the injuries he sustained from the springlock accident. And eating three whole Big Macs, fries, and a bunch of chicken McNuggets at once would have been hard enough even for a healthy person to stomach.
As such, saying William deeply regretted his decision to eat all of that McDonald’s food would be the understatement of the century.
~~
They had been standing around with the harsh sun beating down on them for 15 whole minutes.
“I’m sure Will, I mean your Dad, will be back soon.” Henry said optimistically.
“I doubt it.” Michael replied, crossing his arms.
As if on cue, his dad came stumbling through the water park’s gates and plopped himself down on an unoccupied lounge chair, all the while clutching his stomach in apparent pain.
“Good lord, I should not have had those chicken McNuggets.” He lamented dramatically. “I feel as though I might toss my cookies any second.”
Then he noticed the pairs of eyes watching him. “Oh, hey Michael. Hullo, Henry, and, uh, Henry’s kid… that I forget the name of right now. Just had a few nuggets that aren’t agreeing with me!”
Michael didn’t care one bit about his father’s plight. “You mean to tell me,” he began, his voice cracking with frustration, “that you left your children all alone in a water park with no means of communication and no indication of when you’d be back just so you could go and stuff your face at the McDonald’s like a gluttonous moron?”
“Michael, don’t you talk to your father that way.” His dad scolded, but without the usual venom in his voice due to his current sickened condition. “Especially right now when I’m feeling like this. Whatever, I’ll deal with you later.” He groaned and collapsed back into the chair. “Go find your brother and sister. We’re leaving soon. And Henry, go get me some ginger ale if they have any at the soda fountain. Maybe that will help me.”
“Will, next time you shouldn’t eat all that fast food in one sitting. That never ends well. Oh, I hope you feel better soon.” Henry said sympathetically as Michael walked away, with Charlie following him.
“Geez Henry, you’re starting to sound like my ex-wife.” William complained. “Just get me the damned ginger ale.”
~~
Michael looked everywhere around the park for Evan and Elizabeth, but they were nowhere to be found. Then, he remembered the one place he hadn't checked -- the mechaquarium. Sure enough, he found his younger brother and sister staring into the animatronic aquarium. Elizabeth looked fascinated, but Evan's eyes were wide with fear, and he seemed to be trembling.
"Hi guys! Evan, what's wrong?" Michael asked.
"The-the dragon. It's looking at me." Evan said, and he pointed at a dead-eyed green animatronic sea dragon that looked like it was in desperate need of repair. Its gaping mouth was full of sharp teeth. Of course, Michael knew the thing wasn't real, but he wasn't sure if Evan had reached the age of understanding that yet.
"Forget about the dragon. We have to go now. Dad's sick." Michael said, grabbing Evan's hand and leading him and Elizabeth out of the mechaquarium.
Evan looked back at the animatronic serpent one final time, as if checking to make sure it wasn't following them, his hazel eyes filled with terror. Michael didn't understand what had made Evan so afraid of that particular animatronic, but he believed Evan's encounter with it wouldn't be something the boy would forget about anytime soon.
~~
Now the family was reunited at long last. Evan and Elizabeth were standing beside Michael, who presented them to William.
“You know,” William said while sipping the rest of his ginger ale, “I’m actually feeling a whole lot better now. Maybe you kids can play in the water for a bit longer.”
“Yay! More water slides!” Elizabeth and Evan shouted simultaneously.
But not a moment after he’d said he’d felt better, William immediately bent over the side of the chair and vomited, emptying the entirety of his McDonald’s meal out and unceremoniously splattering it onto the concrete floor of the water park.
“Well, that was a waste of good money.” He said when he finished, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and contemplating the puddle of half digested fried food soaked in ginger ale.
“You have got to be kidding me.” said Michael.
“Daddy that’s disgusting.” Elizabeth said. She crossed her arms and turned away from her father, as if she was so ashamed of being related to somebody who could make such a mess.
“Are those pickles I see?” Henry asked with a hint of fascination, while Charlie was covering her eyes in horror.
“Eww look, it’s running down into the pool!” Evan cried a little too loudly.
The children who were playing towards the edge of the pool heard this, and screamed.
Of course, the wave pool then had to be closed for cleaning and everyone had to get out, with countless parents casting dirty looks at William and his kids as they filed out of the pool one by one, for some reason blaming Michael and company for William ruining their fun. They probably thought William — and by extent, his family — had some kind of awful illness that could infect the whole water park, a thought which William seemed to have picked up on.
“Hey, kids these days are lucky. When I was their age I contracted polio! Do your brats know what it’s like being stuck in an iron lung? No, no they don’t!” William shouted at the parents, who ignored his outburst and just kept walking.
Some staff members came by to put caution tape in front of the steps entering the wave pool.
“Hehe, just a little stomachache.” William said to them a bit nervously.
“Sir, have you recently been diagnosed with a communicable illness?” One of the staff members asked.
“No, he’s not sick or anything like that. He just ate too much at McDonald’s.” Henry clarified.
“McDonald’s?” The staff member sounded like he could barely contain his laughter. “Who would want to gorge themselves on McDonald’s? The food is terrible!”
“Hey, a bloke ought to enjoy himself once in a while, shouldn’t he?” William tried to defend himself. “And kids throw up at water parks all the time. Why am I being punished?”
“Because you’re an adult who should be better than that.” The staff member replied coldly, taking a mop to William’s mess. “Also, you violated the rule of no outside food being allowed on the premises.”
Michael supposed that expelling undigested Big Macs onto park property could technically qualify as bringing “outside food” onto the premises. Maybe it was a tad unfair, but Michael would have been lying if he said he didn’t enjoy seeing his dad get knocked down a peg.
“Anyway, whether you’re sick or not, we’re going to have to ask you to leave. You’ve caused quite the disturbance and you’re ruining the park experience for our other guests.”
“Fine. Kick out the man who’s responsible for the creation of this park. See if I give a damn.”
“How much food did you even have?” Henry asked his friend.
“Uh, let’s see. I had three Big Macs, some fries, and some McNuggets.” William recalled his order. “I think it was the nuggets that did it.”
Henry’s eyes widened. “Three Big Macs? Will what were you thinking?”
William answered calmly. “I was thinking about how hungry I was.”
~~
“Daddy have they really banned us from the park forever?” Evan asked.
“Apparently so. Despite the fact that this place is owned by my company and uses my characters and none of those people would even have their jobs if it wasn’t for me! But I am feeling better now, so I guess that’s something.”
“Well at least we won’t ever be coming back here again.” Michael said. “I knew it wasn’t a good idea to come here in the first place.”
“Oh, don’t you worry Michael. One day I’ll be back in this park. I always come back!”
As they all got into the car and drove home, in the water park office the staff members were talking.
“Whatever we do, we can’t let that weird British family return to the park.”
“Well how are we supposed to keep them out?”
“Maybe from now on, anyone with the last name ‘Afton’ cannot enter the park! Or, better yet, let’s ban everyone who sounds British just to be safe.”
“Good idea! You can never be too careful!”
And that was how Freddy’s Fantasy Water Park came to have a “No British” rule for the remainder of its decades-long existence.
